Breaking News

Judge Won't Give Names of Secret Pardons

CARSON WALKER

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, April 14, 2003

Associated Press Writer

A judge ruled Tuesday that the names of nine people pardoned by former Gov. Bill Janklow should remain secret, saying the state constitution gives the governor sole authority to determine if pardons should be sealed.

Circuit Judge Glen Severson sided with the nine people who sued to keep their names secret and said a 1972 revision of the constitution grants total pardoning power to the governor.

Attorney General Larry Long promised to appeal the ruling.

Few knew about the sealed pardons until earlier this year. In one case, a reporter couldn't get the criminal record of Ron Wheeler, a longtime Janklow friend and former state transportation head who was arrested in December 2001 and later pleaded guilty to drunken driving.

After the pardons became known, Secretary of State Chris Nelson cited a 1983 law that requires every document from arrest to conviction to be sealed automatically once a pardon is granted. In a formal opinion, Long contended the law didn't protect pardons granted by the governor without consulting the parole board.

Little is known about the circumstances surrounding passage of the pardon law in 1983. Janklow and several of the bill's sponsors said they have no recollection of the legislation.

The Associated Press and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that the public has a right to know when pardons are granted. Fourteen other state and national news organizations joined in as well.

Janklow, a Republican now serving in the U.S. House, said he doesn't care which way the lawsuit goes.

"There's just some people that I don't think ought to be hurt," he said. "There's people that violated the law, paid their penalty and have gone on with their lives. I did a background check on every person that was pardoned."